From Cotton Fields to Campsites: A Family’s Journey

My mother’s family, the Mitchel’s had a family reunion in the summer of 85. We went out as a family and stayed next to a very successful RV park in Flagstaff, Arizona. Something about seeing that thriving business must have stuck in our father’s mind and laid the seeds for what was to come.

In fall of that same year, watching travelers cruise down the highway while perched in his cotton picker, our father was struck by inspiration that charted the course of his family’s future. One failed harvest away from financial ruin, he saw RVs that kept rolling past his fields, searching in vain for a place to rest their wheels.

Our father and brother on a combine

Like any good farmer, he began by doing his research. For years, he spent his spare time visiting RV parks, talking to travelers, and learning the ins and outs of the hospitality business. The vision was clear: create a welcoming stop for weary travelers making their way from as far as Branson to visit the coast. With his trusted farm hands by his side during the off-season, he broke ground on the first two rows of what would become our family’s RV park.

The beginning wasn’t easy. For two long years, those carefully planned spots sat empty, a testament to the challenges of starting a business from scratch. But gradually, through word of mouth and persistent dedication, travelers began to discover our little oasis. What started as a backup plan soon became our family’s primary focus.

Then came Mom’s “crazy” idea – converting an old house into a rental cabin. Let’s just say Dad wasn’t immediately sold on the concept. The ensuing ‘heated debate’ has become family legend. But Mom’s intuition proved spot-on: today, cabin rentals account for more than half of our business. Sometimes the best ideas come from thinking outside the RV site pad!

When Dad passed the reins to my sister it marked the beginning of a new chapter. Like many family businesses, we had our share of growing pains and disagreements. But something beautiful happened: what started as squabbles between mother and daughter evolved into a full family collaboration when my sister and I stepped in to help modernize the operation.

Today, we’re light years from those first two lonely rows of RV spots. We’ve expanded to a second location, equipped our parks with high-speed internet (because even camping needs Wi-Fi these days!), and are in the process of installing solar arrays to offset electricity costs. The old-school hospitality that Dad built his dream on now meets modern convenience at every turn.

Now that we have high-speed internet we should make the best use of it we can, and as a part of that effort we’re prepared to take our family’s story online, perhaps even as far as TikTok. Dad might have raised an eyebrow at that one, but we like to think he’d be proud to see his enterprising gamble from the cotton fields has grown into a thriving family business that keeps evolving. Sometimes the best views come after the hardest climbs. We can’t wait to see what the next generation brings to our little slice of roadside heaven.